PARK CITY — Here is what the Slamdance film "American Fork" is not — it's not shot in the actual city of American Fork, nor is it a jab at Utah's culture.
At the film's Saturday night premiere, Chris Bowman, the film's director and a Brigham Young University film school graduate, said he thought the city name had a certain "ring" to it. And while there were 10 days of shooting on location in Utah, none of that was in American Fork itself.
Bowman said there is not a shred of condescension toward Utah in the film, which has additional local ties in its lead actor and screenwriter and one of its three producers.
If anything, Bowman said, with the Wasatch Front as the backdrop, the movie is a "love letter" to Utah life.
Co-producer Jeremy Coon, a former BYU student, said being in Utah was "like coming to a second home."
The film's better-known stars, Kathleen Quinlan and William Baldwin, were in attendance for the Saturday premiere, along with Skyline High School graduate Hubbel Palmer. Palmer wrote the film's screenplay and stars as the film's lead character, Tracy Orbison.
Palmer hopes people will identify with Orbison, billed as "a grocery clerk with the mind of a dreamer, the soul of a poet and the body of a really fat man."
"I hope people are touched," he said. But not so touched, he said, that they don't laugh.
The film, set in a supermarket in the "armpit of the Mountain West," shows Orbison's adventures, which include attending acting classes and urging "teens to give up their surly ways and get high on life."
For Quinlan, Orbison's mother in the film, the most memorable part of her involvement in "American Fork" was watching the job Palmer did in portraying his character.
"I just think he's very talented," said Quinlan, calling Palmer "a young John Candy."
Baldwin, who plays Orbison's acting class instructor, was equally impressed by Palmer's portrayal of the lead character.
"I was glad to be a part of it," Baldwin said. "It's cool when you work with a great script and with great people."
Of the 3,600-plus films submitted to Slamdance, just over 100 made it into the festival, including "American Fork."
"It's a great independent film," said Slamdance co-founder Peter Baxter. "There's some great comedy in it."
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com